Walter & Group...
We have two new members: Mark Ozog and Steve White. Both are Master candidates.
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Many of you jumped right on this quiz and came in with some very good answers !
I picked the answer message from Gary Davison to share along with my comments and an occasional "long answer" in his text in red italics. G.
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QUIZ ON FLY LINE COATINGS AND SILK LINES
1.) One fly line basic coating material had dominated the market for the past twenty years or so. What is it ?
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Yes. G.
2.) Name two other coatings recently developed and marketed.
Polyurethane
Polyethylene Yes. Cortland's recently developed "PE + Crystal" line has a monofilament nylon core and its coating is said to be a mixture of polyethylene and proprietary co- polymers. (For more details, I've added an attachment.) G.
3.) What are the advantages of each as claimed by the manufacturer ?
PVC- Flexibility wide range of applications on most cores. Yes. G.
Polyurethane- Good Coating for low stretch cores . Yes. Airflo claims that these coatings are impervious to many chemicals including bug sprays, sun blocks and gasoline. When testing them I found this to be true. I also found them to be mechanically tough resisting deformation and scratching if stood upon or dragged over rough bottom on the flats. Nail knots between the line and the leader hold well, also. I found that they resisted UV and other sun damage when used extensively in the tropics. G.
Polyethylene- Has Better Buoyancy. Yes. I've tried one of these lines only briefly. It, too, is mechanically tough and does resist chemical damage. One of the reasons for its great buoyancy is its low specific gravity.... this yields a line which is more bulky than most for its weight thus yielding greater air resistance when cast. One attribute is its clarity in air, though I didn't judge its refractive index in water since it won't sink anyway. Its COF seems low as it shoots through the guides well. G.
4.) List as many coating additives as you can and BRIEFLY state the purpose of each.
Hollow glass micro balloons- reduces density gives buoyancy.
Air pockets- reduces density gives buoyancy.
Metal Dust- Example Tungsten to weight line for sinking
Lubricants- Less friction
UV Inhibitors- Increases line life and reduces color fading
Hydrophobic compounds- Water Repellant, more buoyancy
Plasticizers-Added to stay soft & supple a Stiffing or Softening Agent
Coloring- Colors the line
Topcoats- Outer thin layer to protect coating Yes. Good complete list ! G.
5.) List three different surface textures for fly line coatings presently available.
Micro Texture pattern-
Smooth Texture pattern-
Ridge Texture pattern-
Agree. G.
6.) State the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Micro Texture- Reduces Surface Friction, Good for Distance, Buoyancy,& Durability, / Higher cost-Noisy going through guides. Does not require high maintenance.
Smooth Texture- Fair to Good for Distance, Buoyancy, & Durability, Silent, Cost less / Need to be clean and Dressed more often,
Ridge Texture- Reduces Surface Friction, Good Distance, Less Tangles, Silent/ Can collect more dirt.
Agree. One very important advantage of both the micro texture (Sharkskin) lines by Scientific Anglers and the ridge texture (Ridge Lines) by Airflo is that they have gone a long way to solve one of our worst problems when salt water fly fishing in the tropics ..... the sticking of coils of line on a hot skiff deck to one another which produces tangles as line is shot.
An interesting aside: For years we used smooth texture plastic tubing to carry fluids including saline, blood, antibiotics, etc. in our operating rooms. Often the tubing would stick to itself when coiled .... an annoying problem for us as surgeons. A Japanese engineer came up with ridged tubing about 30 years ago. This solved the problem. G.
7.) Do more supple fly lines help reduce "rod slap" when casting ?
No To this question, some answered : What is "rod slap" ? So let's start there.
As the line rapidly passes through the fly rod guides, it can have waves which intermittently contact the rod blank. This is called "rod slap". Some energy is dissipated this way resulting in loss of distance achieved. Supple fly lines tend to "slap" more while stiffer lines do so to a lesser degree.
This tendency is lessened somewhat by using stripper guides of greater diameter and/or those which stand more proud on the rod blank.
During our Workshop at the Conclave on salt water fly fishing, Flip Pallot showed us a trick which I found impressive. He had us cast as we usually do, shooting line for distance. Then he took my 4 pc. rod and twisted the but section joint 90 degrees so that the guides were lined up at right angle to where they had been, facing to the side of the caster. My cast was a bit easier and my distance improved on every cast. Several of us did it and all had the same result !
He then showed us how to do this with one of the new one piece salt water rods. He simply made a cast while holding the cork grip so that the reel (and rod) were rotated 90 degrees inward. worked almost as well.
Then I remembered rods made by Joy Dunlop years ago. These were made with a great number of guides. The first stripper guide and one placed about 4" above were at right angles to the shaft, and the other guides were placed gradually rotated so that the final two wire guides were in line with the orientation of the tip top.
Flip had showed this trick to Steve Rajeff a few days previously and said that Steve had been quite impressed with this simple move. G.
8.) Which has greater mass, LEAD or TUNGSTEN ?
Mass density of Tungsten is greater than Lead. Yes. Tungsten has a specific gravity of 19.6 (where that of fresh water is 1.0.) Lead = 11.5 Some others: Mercury = 13.59 Uranium = 18.90 Plutonium =19.80 Gold = 19.32
I noted the greatest to be Platinum at Sg. = 21.400 G.
9.) Even though it worked very well when used for sinking fly lines for years and was economical to use, lead is no longer used in fly lines. Why ?
Toxicity Yes. Environmentalists feel that the less lead in our waters, the better since increasing levels of this and mercury threaten the welfare of our aquatic creatures including fish and (eventually) humans who consume them. G.
10.) What is a "microbaloon" ?
Glass or Plastic bubble Yes. These tiny "bubbles" are often used in the coatings of fly lines to make them more buoyant so they float higher. G.
11.) What is a "plasticizer" ?
Stiffing or Softening Agent Yes. As noted above, used in the production of fly line coatings. G.
12.) Most modern fly line coatings are HYDROPHOBIC. What does this mean ?
Water Repellant or Buoyant Agree. G.
13.) What fly line company makes its own core materials ? (I've read that it is the only one.)
Rio I didn't find that in my reading and search. Cortland does make its own core materials and cores for several other fly line manufacturerss
14.) What does the abbreviation, "COF" mean ?
COF is a fly fishing club located in Bend Oregon. Central Oregon Flyfishers ;o) Well, now I've learned something new. Actually, the answer I was looking for is Coefficient Of Friction. (Practicum: A fly line with a low COF shoots through the guides better.) G.
15.) Can you name 4 companies which produce silk fly lines ?
Phoenix Silk Fly Lines; Yes. Made in France.
J.P. Thebault Silk Fly Lines Yes. Also made in France (in a variety of taper designs.)
Terenzio Silk and Artificial Silk Flylines Yes. Made in Italy.
J Busse FlyFishing Company I couldn't find them listed as a manufacturer. They do market silk fly lines made by others.
Kingfisher Lines Kingfisher used to be a line making company. I've been told that they have not made lines in years and that the KINGFISHER label is used by Phoenix.
Loukkas of France makes silk fly lines.
16.) List some properties of silk fly lines as compared with most modern other fly lines.
Taper is based on long front tapers and longer level tips. Thirty yards. Usually so. This yields delicate presentations. The lines are relatively stiff. They have low stretch and satisfactory tensile strength. They sink unless dressed. Silk lines have low diameter / weight and so are not very air resistant.
17.) What company produces a line called a "SYLK" line ?
Cortland Yes. (Check the attachments for more details)
18.) Of what material is it made ?
Fully synthetic fly line Yes. It is considered "artifical silk" ..... the exact formulation is a proprietary secret.
19.) Do you know of a company which makes silk fly lines in the U.S.A. ?
Phoenix Silk Fly Lines; Phoenix lines are made in France. They are marketed in the U.S.A. and other countries. Note the attachments. I don't know of a silk line actually manufactured in the U.S.A. G
20.) Name three countries in which silk fly lines are made. Can only think of two
Italy Yes, Teranzio Zandri makes them there. I found that they make double taper lines only. These are literally hand made. They come with a bottle of their own brand of silk line dressing.
USA
21.) One company, offers hand made silk fly lines. Do you know it's name ?
J.P. Thebault Silk Fly Lines
J Busse FlyFishing Company
The only company I could find listed as producing hand made silk fly lines was TERENZIO ZANDRI in Italy. Perhaps J.P. Thebault makes some by hand, but I don't have a reference for that. Some real affectionados actually have made their own hand made silk fly lines at home !!!!!! G.
22.) For what kind of fly fishing would you consider using a silk line ?
Trout, Salmon, Steelhead. Some bamboo fly rod purists get great pleasure from using these lines expecially for trout fishing with light tippets and where delicate presentations are desired. G.
Gordy
Attachment:
Classic 444 SYLK - Fly Angler's OnLine Product Review.mht
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Attachment:
Cortland - PE+ CRYSTAL.mht
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